dpa
Berlin
At least five people were killed and 18 injured by a Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port of Odessa, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andriy Yermak announced via Telegram on Saturday.
Ukrainian air defence officials also said they had shot down two Russian missiles and two reconnaissance drones on Saturday, adding that the missiles had been launched by a long-range Tu-95 bomber over the Caspian Sea.
Meanwhile, Russian troops resumed their attack on the Azovstal steelworks in the fiercely contested port city of Mariupol on Saturday, according to Ukrainian sources.
"The enemy is attempting to put down the last resistance of the defenders of Mariupol,” presidential adviser Oleksei Arestovych said in a video message on Saturday, adding that Russia was deploying its artillery and air force in the fresh offensive.
Ukrainian soldiers would nevertheless hold their positions and "even launch counterattacks,” Arestovych insisted.
A ceasefire and the opening of safe corridors for the remaining civilians of Mariupol was due to begin at midday (0900 GMT), though no confirmation of the measures was immediately available.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin rescinded an order to storm the steelworks, a move seen by many analysts as a way to avoid excessive Russian military losses. Russia has repeatedly declared that it has taken full control of the port.
Mariupol has been completely surrounded by Russian troops since the early days of the Russian invasion. Kiev estimates that more than 20,000 people have been killed in the battle for the city and satellite images have shown the location of what are thought to be mass graves.
According to information from Kiev, Russian troops have also renewed their attacks on Ukrainian targets throughout the Donbass region, as well as in Mariupol.
"In the direction of Donetsk, the enemy is carrying out offensive actions along the entire front line,” the Ukrainian General Staff announced on Saturday.
According to the report, the fiercest Russian offensives were focused on the city of Sievierodonetsk in the Luhansk region. In addition, the General Staff reported that Ukrainian troops had managed to repell offensives around the towns of Rubizhne, Popasna and Mar’inka.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, there are about 44,000 Ukrainian soldiers in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, while the Russian army and pro-Russian separatists are said to have a force of between 60,000 and 80,000 men in the same area.
Analysts believe the Russian military command aims to encircle the Ukrainian units in the Donbass.
Russia accused the US of planning to frame it for the use of weapons of mass destruction in order to further diplomatically isolate Moscow on Saturday.
"The staging of the use of weapons of mass destruction will be used to accuse Russia of using illegal weapons, in order to realize the so-called ‘Syria scenario,’ in which a given state is isolated economically and politically and excluded from international organizations such as the UN Security Council,” said Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force.
Berlin
At least five people were killed and 18 injured by a Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port of Odessa, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andriy Yermak announced via Telegram on Saturday.
Ukrainian air defence officials also said they had shot down two Russian missiles and two reconnaissance drones on Saturday, adding that the missiles had been launched by a long-range Tu-95 bomber over the Caspian Sea.
Meanwhile, Russian troops resumed their attack on the Azovstal steelworks in the fiercely contested port city of Mariupol on Saturday, according to Ukrainian sources.
"The enemy is attempting to put down the last resistance of the defenders of Mariupol,” presidential adviser Oleksei Arestovych said in a video message on Saturday, adding that Russia was deploying its artillery and air force in the fresh offensive.
Ukrainian soldiers would nevertheless hold their positions and "even launch counterattacks,” Arestovych insisted.
A ceasefire and the opening of safe corridors for the remaining civilians of Mariupol was due to begin at midday (0900 GMT), though no confirmation of the measures was immediately available.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin rescinded an order to storm the steelworks, a move seen by many analysts as a way to avoid excessive Russian military losses. Russia has repeatedly declared that it has taken full control of the port.
Mariupol has been completely surrounded by Russian troops since the early days of the Russian invasion. Kiev estimates that more than 20,000 people have been killed in the battle for the city and satellite images have shown the location of what are thought to be mass graves.
According to information from Kiev, Russian troops have also renewed their attacks on Ukrainian targets throughout the Donbass region, as well as in Mariupol.
"In the direction of Donetsk, the enemy is carrying out offensive actions along the entire front line,” the Ukrainian General Staff announced on Saturday.
According to the report, the fiercest Russian offensives were focused on the city of Sievierodonetsk in the Luhansk region. In addition, the General Staff reported that Ukrainian troops had managed to repell offensives around the towns of Rubizhne, Popasna and Mar’inka.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, there are about 44,000 Ukrainian soldiers in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, while the Russian army and pro-Russian separatists are said to have a force of between 60,000 and 80,000 men in the same area.
Analysts believe the Russian military command aims to encircle the Ukrainian units in the Donbass.
Russia accused the US of planning to frame it for the use of weapons of mass destruction in order to further diplomatically isolate Moscow on Saturday.
"The staging of the use of weapons of mass destruction will be used to accuse Russia of using illegal weapons, in order to realize the so-called ‘Syria scenario,’ in which a given state is isolated economically and politically and excluded from international organizations such as the UN Security Council,” said Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force.